Halo: Dark of Night
Halo: Dark of Night is a first-person shooter video game developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft. Halo: Dark of Night was released on the November 11, 2020 in Australia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, North America and Singapore; November 12 internationally and November 15 in Japan. The game is rated Mature 16+ for blood, gore, violence and heavy language by the ESRB. It is rated MA 15+ in Australia and New Zealand by the OFLC. Halo: Dark of Night, unlike other Halo games, was revealed at the first annual Microsoft World Expo in Melbourne, Australia, in 2019. Further information, including a cinematic trailer, was released at E3 2019 alongside Halo Infinite's trailer. Halo: Dark of Night is a mostly multiplayer-driven game, with it's campaign being heavily multiplayer-focused and encourages it to be played online or with friends through 4-player split-screen, however singleplayer is also available. The multiplayer consisted of the basic Halo gamemodes at launch, but has since incorporated popular fan-made modes into the official selection, notable examples being Drive or Die and Gun-game. Alongside the traditional forge mechanics, an additional mechanic was made available later through free downloadable content which allowed users to create their own campaigns and share them through the Halo file-sharing system. A monthly contest is held by 343 Industries, with most of the categories pertaining to Forge creations. Synopsis Characters and setting Halo: Dark of Night spans over four different settings, beginning with Solstice, a Forerunner research facility in deep space, then transitioning to the Sentinel Crisis on Baphilas, then to the UNSC Ivory Coast, and finally within the decrepit, damaged Society Catacombs. Similar to Halo 2, Halo: Dark of Night follows two protagonists, from the United Nations Space Command and Lights of Purity respectively. The game follows Theo-783, a Spartan II of Class II, and Khisze 'Hagramai, a Sangheili Zealot within the Lights of Purity. Plot synopsis Dark of Night's story follows two members of two different factions two years following the official end of the Human-Covenant war, in mid 2555. The plot deals with heavy elements, with genocide being referenced and being a main plot point in the Khisze 'Hagramai storyline. The overarching narrative revolves around Cassandra, a Forerunner - Human hybrid AI, and her plan to gain revenge on the UNSC following the events at Far Harbour. It would also follow the Lights of Purity, showing of their struggle to defend their people against the side-effects of Cassandra's campaign against the UNSC. Gameplay synopsis The Theo-783 storyline begins with a retrieval mission aboard Solstice, a Forerunner research facility within deep space. Fighting alongside Rose-788, the protagonist mainly encounters numerous Sentinel forms before reaching the facility's catalogue, in which Kayode Adetola is found close to death. Cassandra, a Forerunner - Human hybrid AI, would warn the two Spartans of the facility's true nature, it's purpose being to research a cure to the flood, and would request they destroy it. Rose-788, Kayode Adetola and Cassandra would evacuate the structure, leaving the protagonist alone to fight their way to the core of the facility and initiate it's self-destruction sequence. The player would encounter several flood forms during their escape, and would eventually return to the UNSC Carefree, a heavily modified Charon-class Frigate operated by the UNSC Black Operations Command. Jumping to Khisze 'Hagramai's perspective, the Lights of Purity would discover that the Sentinels on Baphilas, the capital planet of the faction, had been activated, and had destroyed an entire Yanme'e hive in the planet's caves. Being deployed with a special operations team alongside a large number of Yanme'e, the player would fight their way through the caves in multiple levels, engaging and destroying many Sentinels and saving many Yanme'e hives. The player, after multiple levels underground, would be redeployed to the surface where they'd engage a number of Sentinel Enforcers in a unique aerial warfare level. Back to Theo-783, the UNSC Ivory Coast would have exited slipspace following coordinates provided by research teams on the UNSC Carefree. However, the coordinates had been sourced from Cassandra, who had led the vessel and it's crew into a trap, where they'd be engaged by a large number of Covenant remnant forces. Being overwhelmed and eventually boarded, the player would have to repel the boarders before transitioning to the exterior of the ship, where the protagonist would engage special operations and EVA forces that were attempting to sabotage the Archer pods. After defeating the boarders, the Covenant remnant would retreat, however it would be discovered that Cassandra, who had been brought with them, was missing. Following the retreating vessels, the UNSC Ivory Coast would pursue them to their destination through slipspace, arriving at the glassed world of Society. A cutscene level would take place, depicting the Lights of Purity discovering Cassandra's involvement in the activation of the sentinels on Baphilas, and deploying Khisze 'Hagramai to intercept, capture and force Cassandra to end the onslaught. Theo-783 and several ground teams would be deployed to Society's surface, with UNSC forces battling the remnant outside an entrance to the catacombs. Once the forces were defeated, the UNSC would enter the catacombs with a large number of armoured vehicles, and a level would begin that'd mainly take place within a Scorpion tank, which'd see the player leading a battalion of marines towards the structure's control center. The player would receive reports of the arrival of a new fleet from slipspace, which would turn out to be Khisze and the Lights of Purity, who'd engage the remnant. Following the arrival of Theo-783 at the control center, the player would switch back to Khisze 'Hagramai and would lead a special operations team of Sangheili and Unggoy towards the control center of the structure, using the structure's access shafts to rapidly move towards the control center. Playing as Khisze, the player encounters remnant, human and sentinel enemies before arriving at their objective. Upon both arriving at the control center, a shootout would begin, with the marines being beaten back and Theo-783 taking cover as the numerically superior Lights of Purity suppress them. The remaining remnant in the room would attempt to make an escape with Cassandra, moving towards Khisze, believing the Lights of Purity to be remnant forces. Engaging and neutralising the remnant, Khisze would retrieve Cassandra and the special operations teams would begin their retreat. The player would now play as Theo-783 as he would chase the forces through the catacombs on a Warthog, ultimately failing to make it in time, and setting up the plot for the up-coming downloadable content. Terminals Similar to Halo 3, Halo: Dark of Night contains 12 semi-hidden terminals which tell of a minor storyline. The terminals would tell of the struggle of an unnamed Forerunner Ancilla to stave off rampancy in the centuries following the firing of the Halo array. This ancilla would make multiple references to the flood, the genetic experiments on Baphilas, the Precursors and the Society Catacombs. Once the player enters the Society Catacombs, the terminals would change in nature, displaying long-distance communications between the Ancilla and 03-046 Everlasting Solitude revolving around the nature of their creation, their purpose and their own philosophies. The final terminal ends with the Ancilla gaining "enlightenment" and seemingly permanently staving off rampancy. Reception Campaign The campaign for Halo: Dark of Night was received well, being praised by both audiences and critics, however it's cliffhanger ending was an incredibly controversial topic, with critics comparing it to Halo 2's ending. Expansion Campaigns Midnight Midnight's campaign was received very well by both audiences and critics, netting higher scores in general than the base campaign. It was praised for it's atmosphere, stunning details and gameplay, with many reviews comparing the atmosphere of Midnight to that of Halo 3: ODST's night sections. Great War ''' Great War's campaign was received with above average scores. While the later two missions involving Kayode Adetola were considered enjoyable by the players, it was criticized for adding a third protagonist and very poorly introducing him to the general public. Khisze Hagramai's sections earned much praise. '''Legendary The Legendary Expansion's campaign received the highest scores out of all other campaigns when it came to reviews. It was considered a solid expansion, with a good story, good gameplay and a diverse and enjoyable mix of missions and objectives. Critics compared the campaign to Halo 2's New Mombasa missions. Gameplay Campaign The campaign consists of 14 levels, 12 of which are playable. # Gearing Up - "Don't forget your boots." ''(Cinematic) # Solstice - ''"Do the geek's jobs for them." '' # Contact - ''"Something's off. Find out what. # The Fire - "Get up, get out." # Crisis - "The machines of our forefathers have gone rampant. Teach them a lesson." # Hive - "The Drones are being slaughtered. Rally the survivors and bring the fight to the Sentinels." # Emergence - "If not for those we have lost, for those we have yet to lose." # Spearhead - "Brethren! Defend our holy city from this vermin!" # UNSC Ivory Coast - "It's quiet.. too quiet." # Boarding Action - "Defend the UNSC Ivory Coast at all costs!" # Glass - "Get into the Catacombs, drive the remnant back." # Revelation - "The Lights of Purity make a game-changing discovery.." ''(Cinematic) # Society - ''"Punch a hole through remnant forces! Get to the control room!" # Counterattack - "Get to her first."' Expansion Campaigns The Expansion Campaigns consisted of multiple levels from multiple expansions following the game's release. Midnight Missions # Broken Lance - '' "Dear humanity: We regret being alien bastards. We regret coming to Earth. And we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!"'' # Storm - "Give those freaks a taste of what humanity really means!" # Repulse - "Take a comforting train ride." The Midnight Missions do not follow the main narrative and take place during the Battle of Earth from the perspective of Rose-788. Great War Missions # Defiance - "Those blinded by their faith must be enlightened by force." # The Warrior.. "Shoot your way out, because being subtle is overrated." # ..And His Scribe. "Take the Covies out on a nice date. Guns included." The Great War Missions pick up where the main story left off, adding an additional protagonist, Kayode Adetola, and depicting his fight to save his ally. Legendary Missions # Wartorn - "Get to the evacuation point and defend it at all costs." # Sabre - "The Covenant are mounting an offensive. Launch one of your own." # Killing Blow - "Mount up and drive them out!" The Legendary missions continue on with the Midnight Expansion's narrative, following Rose-788 during the Battle of Earth. Multiplayer 16 maps were included in the basegame, with 12 Multiplayer maps and 4 Firefight maps. Default * Holy City * Clairvoyance * Hive * Glasslands * Catacombs * Graveyard * Space-walk * Night * Dusk * Grassland * Solstice * Park Pre-Order Map Pack * Megalopolis * Downtown * Reserve Midnight Maps * Journey * Basin * Deep Blue * Deep Blue (Hive) * Overrun * Temple Forge Competition Maps * Griffball Arena * Invasion: Megalopolis * Invasion: Basin * Shield Ghosts and Glass Maps * Holy Crusader * Biography * Homefront * Cartographer * Labyrinth * Offensive * Infestation Legendary Maps * Brisbane * Bridge * OPERATION: PALM TREE * Laboratory * Gladiator * Enforcer Firefight * Glasslands (Firefight) * Control Room * Boarding Action * Holy City (Firefight) Pre-Order Map Pack * Installation 05 * Earth Midnight Maps * Temple (Firefight) Forge Competition Maps * Megalopolis (Firefight) Ghosts and Glass Maps * Cartographer (Firefight) Expansions Halo: Dark of Night has received multiple expansion content packs since launch, with one major piece of content launching every six months. Irregular map updates take place which add user-made maps and gamemodes into the game. Pre-Order Content Pack The Pre-Order Content Pack, also referred to as the Pre-Order Map Pack, is an expansion of the game that released on launch and was originally only accessible to people who Pre-Ordered Halo: Dark of Night. It contains five maps, three of which were multiplayer and two where firefight maps. The maps released with this pack are: * Megalopolis - A map taking place within Sydney on Earth during the Human-Covenant War. * Downtown - A map taking place within downtown Sydney on Earth following the war. * Reserve - A map taking place within the Uplift Reserve in New Mombasa. * Installation 05 - A firefight map taking place on Installation 05 * Earth - A firefight map taking place within an Orbital Defense Platform above Earth. The content pack also included several additions, including armour sets, name plates, armour effects and a lifetime season pass. Following the release of Midnight, the Pre-Order Content Pack's maps were made publicly available, while the other features remained restricted to Pre-Order customers. Midnight Midnight is the first major expansion pack for Halo: Dark of Night. The expansion was released to all players, being a free expansion. It contains seven maps, six of which were multiplayer and one of which was firefight. It also added three new campaign missions. Midnight released on December 29, 2020. The new maps released with this pack are: * Journey - A map taking place within a Covenant Cruiser's control room. * Basin - A forge world esque map with an emphasis on forge, taking place on Baphilas. * Deep Blue - A map taking place within an underwater Forerunner structure on Baphilas. * Deep Blue (Hive) - A variation of Deep Blue which depicts the structure overran by Yanme'e hives. * Overrun - A map taking place within an unknown Forerunner facility undergoing a flood infestation. * Temple - A map taking place on a large bridge in an underground chasm on Installation 05. * Temple (Firefight) - A firefight map taking place within the same setting as Temple with minor changes. The new campaign missions released with this pack are: * Broken Lance - A mission taking place within Sydney at night during the Battle of Earth. * Storm - A mission taking place within Sydney at night during the Battle of Earth. * Repulse - A mission taking place within the transit system below Sydney during the Battle of Earth. The expansion also included multiple new additions, including new armour sets and effects, two new weapons and three player-made game-modes, which are as follows: * Drive or Die - A variant of Infection where the infected chase survivors who are driving vehicles. * Space Battle - A mode which takes place entirely within space between aerial vehicles. * Gun-game - A mode which sees the player gain better weapons per kill until someone wins. Forge Competition Expansion Pack The Forge Competition Expansion Pack is the second major expansion pack for Halo: Dark of Night, and the first to primarily consist of player-made maps. A competition was held by 343 Industries to determine which maps to add into this update. The update released on January 2nd 2021. The maps included with this expansion pack are: * Griffball Arena - A map taking place within a large arena, intended for use with Griffball. * Invasion: Megalopolis - An invasion map taking place within the Megalopolis map with major changes. * Invasion: Basin - An invasion map taking place within the Basin map with major changes. * Shield - A map taking place within an Orbital Defense Platform orbiting Earth. * Megalopolis (Firefight) - A firefight map taking place within the Megalopolis map with minor changes. The expansion also included three player-made game-modes, which are as follows: * Deathball - A variant of Griffball played using vehicles. * Chaos Zombies - A variant of Infection in which the zombies have very high speed but low health. * Boss Zombie - A variant of Infection. Formerly known as "Fat Kid." The Great War Expansion Pack The Great War Expansion Pack is the third major expansion pack for Halo: Dark of Night. The expansion was released to all players, being a free expansion. It released on June 2nd, 2021. The pack, unlike previous expansions, was the first to not release multiplayer or firefight maps, instead taking a focus on the campaign. The released campaign maps are as follows: * Defiance - A mission taking place directly following Mission 14: Counterattack in which the player takes control over Khisze 'Hagramai as he engages remnant forces above Society. * The Warrior.. - A mission taking place during Kayode Adetola's escape from UNSC Custody on Earth. it is the first time in the Halo Series that the player takes control over a non-UNSC affiliated human. * ..And His Scribe - A mission taking place as Kayode Adetola arrives on Baphilas to recover his friend and ally, Cassandra. The Great War Expansion Pack would act as a promotional piece for the up-coming Ghosts and Glass expansion pack. The Ghosts and Glass Expansion Pack The Ghosts and Glass Expansion Pack is the fourth major expansion for Halo: Dark of Night. The expansion was released to all players, being a free expansion. It released on June 12th, 2021. It was directly tied to the Great War Expansion Pack, releasing ten days after it following on the hype generated by the expansion. It released multiple multiplayer maps, which are as follows: * Holy Crusader - A map taking place within the city of Carpentaria on Elysia, during the first battle of Elysia. Notably, it was the largest map within the Battles gamemode's library, and included playable sections in both the city, and a Covenant SDV Corvette above it. * Biography - A map taking place within a Forerunner data center on the Ark. * Homefront - A map taking place within the city of Sydney during the Battle of Earth. It is the second largest map within the entire game. * Cartographer - A map taking place outside of the Cartographer on the Ark. * Labyrinth - A map taking place within the Cartographer on the Ark. * Offensive - A map taking place within the deserts of the Ark, it is the third largest map within the game. * Infestation - A map taking place within the Flood-infested High Charity. * Cartographer (Firefight) - A firefight map taking place on the Cartographer map with minor changes. Unlike other maps in the game, these maps had the general theme of being related to the Human-Covenant War. Blue team was replaced with the Covenant Empire, with players playing as Sangheili, while Red team was replaced with the UNSC, with players playing as SPARTAN-IIs. The expansion pack included a number of gamemodes, which are as follows: * Battles - A gamemode that is the Halo equivalent to Battlefield's Conquest, taking place on extremely large maps with certain objectives. Elements of Invasion were incorporated into the gamemode, with both teams being able to win the match if they were able to complete their objectives. * Ultra Hardcore - A gamemode that removes the entire HUG. Players start with a limited amount of ammunition. * Griffball Party - A variant of Griffball that plays like Slayer, with the team system being removed in favour of duos. * Schism - Team Slayer with both teams being replaced by the Covenant and Covenant separatists. Covenant players play as Jiralhanae while Separatist players play as Sangheili. * Schism Juggernaut - Juggernaut but with the same settings as Schism. The Juggernaut plays as a Lekgolo and the players may play as either Jiralhanae or Sangheili depending on their choice. Legendary Expansion Pack The Legendary Expansion Pack is the fifth major expansion pack for Halo: Dark of Night. The expansion was released to all players, being a free expansion. It released on September 29th, 2021. The Legendary Expansion Pack stuck to the theme of the Human-Covenant War that the prior expansion pack had brought with it. The expansion pack included both new campaign missions and many multiplayer maps. The campaign missions included with this expansion are as follows: * Wartorn - A mission taking place within Brisbane during the Battle of Earth. * Sabre - A mission taking place along a long stretch of highway outside of Brisbane during the Battle of Earth, the level is primarily vehicular. * Killing Blow - A mission taking place within Brisbane during the Battle of Earth. The Multiplayer maps included with this expansion are: * Brisbane - A map taking place within downtown Brisbane. * Bridge - A map taking place on a large highway bridge in Brisbane. * OPERATION: PALM TREE - A map taking place primarily on the highways and outskirts of Brisbane, but includes some areas of the main city. It is the fourth largest map in the game. * Laboratory - A map taking place within a Forerunner Research Facility on Baphilas. * Gladiator - A map taking place within a Forerunner Arena in an unknown location. Griffball only. * Enforcer - A map taking place within a police station in Brisbane. Associated Media Halo: Dark of Night had multiple pieces of media associated to it. Office of Naval Intelligence Covenant Information Database The Office of Naval Intelligence Covenant Information Database, or ONICID for short, is an official guidebook of the Covenant, it's history and the species within it. The ONICID was given for free to customers who pre-ordered Halo: Dark of Night or bought the Legendary edition of the game. = Achievements Similar to other Halo games, Halo: Dark of Night has a wide array of achievements available to be unlocked. Campaign Achievements * Ready to Fight - Complete Gearing Up * All's Quiet. - Complete Solstice, Contact ''and ''The Fire ''on normal or heroic * Holy Crusader - Complete ''Crisis, Hive, Emergence ''and ''Spearhead ''on normal or heroic. * Space Walk - Complete ''UNSC Ivory Coast ''and ''Boarding Action ''on normal or heroic. * Catacombs - Complete ''Glass, Revelation, Society ''and ''Counterattack ''on normal or heroic. * Reclaimer - Complete ''Solstice, Contact ''and ''The Fire on legendary. * Sword of the Gods - Complete Crisis, Hive, Emergence ''and ''Spearhead on legendary. * Spartan - Complete UNSC Ivory Coast and Boarding Action ''on normal or heroic. * Champion - Complete ''Glass, Revelation, Society ''and ''Counterattack on legendary. * Mythic - Complete the Campaign on legendary and earn your Mythic armor-set. * Brothers in Arms - Complete the Campaign on normal or heroic with the same players. * Heroes - Complete the Campaign on legendary with the same players. * Storyteller - Discover all terminals. * Soldier - Complete all score challenges. Multiplayer Achievements * Getting Started - Create your Spartan. * Getting Experienced - Reach Rank 10. * Lt. Colonel - Reach Rank 20. * Colonel - Reach Rank 30. * Field Marshal - Reach Rank 40. * Forerunner - Reach Rank 50. * Zealous Champion - Create your Elite. * Defender of Humanity - Kill 1,000 Elites in Matchmaking as a Spartan. * Champion of the Gods - Kill 1,000 Spartans in Matchmaking as an Elite. * Marksman - Kill 3 players with a sniper rifle in 3 seconds or under. * Tank Commander - Kill 1,000 players in Matchmaking using vehicles. * Warthog Rally - Kill 200 players in Matchmaking by running them over with Warthogs. * Space Ace - Kill 500 players in Space Battle. * I am worthy! - Kill 10,000 players in Matchmaking. * This is my rifle - Kill 200 players in Matchmaking with headshots. * Catch! - Stick 100 players with plasma grenades in Matchmaking. * Martyrdom - Get stuck with a plasma grenade by another player and blow them up with it. * Needle Time! - Kill 50 players with needle grenades. * Holy Flame! - Kill 50 players with plasma grenades. * Frag out! - Kill 50 players with frag grenades. * Legend among men - Be MVP 3 times in a row. * Show me your driver's license! - Kill 50 players with the police warthog * Thief! - Pick up 50 guns that a player dropped. * Director - Share a clip or image to the fileshare. * Builder - Share a forge creation to the fileshare. * Master Builder - Have 50 people download a forge creation you have shared. * Celebrity - Have 500 people download a forge creation you have shared and earn your custom nameplate! * Collector - Obtain all achievements, excluding Master Builder ''and ''Celebrity. Xbox One Exclusive Achievements * Linked up - Connect your game to Halo Waypoint Appearances Protagonists Main Protagonists * Theo-783 * Khisze 'Hagramai Expansion Protagonists * Rose-788 (Midnight) * Kayode Adetola (Great War) Antagonists * Cassandra Characters Prominent Characters Supporting Characters * James Coleman * Vetan 'Hanam Factions * United Nations Space Command * Lights of Purity * The Flood * Sentinels * Covenant Remnant * Covenant Empire (Midnight) * Insurrection (Great War)